Karl G. Maeser

Karl G. Maeser

A bronze figure of the appointed principal of Brigham Young Academy by Brigham Young in 1875 was unveiled Nov. 7, 1958. It was created by Ortho Fairbanks, a pioneer Utah artist and BYU art alumnus, and originally stood in front of the Carl F. Eyring Physical Science Center. (DU) It now stands in front of the east façade of the Maeser Building.

The heroic-sized statue was made possible by Nicholas G. Morgan, through the Nicholas G. Morgan Foundation, in memory of his mother, Helen M. Morgan, who was a student of Professor Maeser in the old 20th Ward School in Salt Lake City. Mr. Morgan said the project was the result of the suggestion of Bryant S. Hinckley, a Brigham Young Academy alumnus and early-day teacher, who said in a devotional assembly in 1955, "I hope to live to see the day when a heroic statue in bronze of my beloved teacher and friend, Karl G. Maeser, is erected on this campus."